Healthy eating is still affordable

Sydney, Feb 26 (IANS) Food prices may have skyrocketed worldwide since 2000, but eating healthy is still affordable for the average family, according to new research. The survey found rising food costs have been matched by increasing average incomes and welfare payments, making the affordability of healthy food about the same as it was in 2000.

Researchers compared the results of the Illawarra Healthy Food Basket survey between 2000 and 2007 to monitor the affordability of healthy eating over time.

According to the survey, vegetables and fruit increased in price the most - by 56 percent and 47 percent respectively. But the cost of bread, cereals and dairy foods stayed the same or even dropped over the seven-year period.

“It’s concerning that fruit and vegetable prices have gone up the most. Our study shows this rise has been offset by other prices coming down and by the increase in people’s income. So putting healthy food on the table is still possible even in this day and age,” said study co-author and associate professor Peter Williams, University of Wollongong (UW), according a UW release.